Fuel regulator latch



Sept. 17, 1940. r. H. JEFFERs 2,214,730

FUEL REGULATOR LATCH Filed Jari. so, 1939 INVENT OR.

` ATTORNEY.

BY f/wmHL/ff@ Patented Sept. 17,319.40

PATENT OFFICE FUEL REGULATOR LATCH Thomas H1 Jeffers, Lynwood, Calif., assigner to Grayson Heat Control, Ltd.,.Lynwood, Calif., a. corporation of California Application January 30, 1939,'Serial No. 253,561

7 Claims.

' 4 This invention relates in general to fuel regulators by which the gaseous fuel supply to a burner may be manually controlled and thermostatically regulated so as to produce and main- 6 tain a predetermined temperature in an oven or other chamber to be heated, and is more particularly concerned with a latch by which the control valve of the regulator will be automatically locked in closed position against accidental l opening.

While latches forr this general purpose have heretofore been employed, they have been somewhat complex in structure, and, consequently, not only expensive to manufacture but difficult 16 to assemble in working position.

The primary purpose of my present invention is to provide a latch of the character indicated which will not only be simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, and easy to assemble, but

2o which will be positive and reliable in operation and durable in use. f

With these ends in view, I have provided ya latch of simple construction devoid of levers and other complications which comprises merely '25 a spring pressed lock pin adapted to lockingly engage in a slot in a disk connected with the control valve actuator for automatically locking the actuator against movement, and in conjunction therewith I have provided a stud mounted on the control knob in position to engage in said disk slot for turning th'e disk, the stud being aligned with the locking pin when the valve is closed so that longitudinal movement of the stud directly against the lock pin will retract the pin from engagement with the ldisk and thereby release the valve for movement by the knob. l

A preferred embodiment-l of my invention is of the parts when thecontrol valve has been moved to fully open position; and I .'Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3. 55 On the drawing, reference character 5 indicates (Cl. 'i4-527) generally thecasingof a regulator, the structural fully disclosed in a co-pending application of 5.

Kenneth L. Dynes, Serial No. 252,135, filed January 21, 1939. The form of regulator illustrated comprises an oscillatable control valve 6 adapted to control a fuel passage 1, the valve being mounted to oscillate about the axis of a hollow shaft or l0 sleeve 8 `upon which it is carried. 'A rotatable and longitudinally movable shaft 9 is disposed within the sleeve 8 and is operably connected at its inner end with a fuel regulating valve (not shown) and by which said valvev may be regulated 15 to maintain under the iniiuence of a thermostat that predetermined temperature in the burner heated compartment for which the regulator is set.

Upon the outer end of shaft 9 there is fixedly 20 mounted a manually operable knob or handle Ii which is maintained in the outward position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 by an expansion spring I2 interposed between the knob and the' outer end of sleeve 8.\ A disk I3 non-rotatably 25 mounted upon the sleeve 8 is maintained against displacement longitudinally from the sleeveby a bifurcated lock washer I4 which is moved transversely of the sleeve into locking position in a circumferential groove I5 formed in the sleeve. 30 The disk I3 is provided with a radially disposed slot I6, best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The wall of the casing 5 is provided with a recess I I to slidingly receive a hollow lock pin I8- which is formed atits outer end to provide a cen- 35 trai locking projection I9 surrounded by a shoulder 2l. A spring 22 urges'the lock pin outwardly -against the inneri'ace of disk I3, and when the slot I6 is brought; into alignment with the pin upon closure of the control valve, the locking pro- 40 jection I9 is projected into the slot, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so as to lock the disk I3 and thereby the control valve and the operating knob II against rotative movement.

For the dual purpose of imparting rotative movement from the knob II to the disk I3 and thereby through the sleeve 8 to the control valve '6, and for releasing the lock pin from the slot I6 to permit this movement, the rear face of the knob 'is equipped with a rearwardly projecting 50 stud 23 .extending through the disk slot I6 so as to form a permanent connection between the disk I3 and the knob. This stud is so radially positioned as to oppose the shoulder 2I of the lock pin when the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Consequently, when the knob is moved inwardly against the force of spring I2 from the full to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, the end of abutment 23will force the lock pin I8 inwardly against the force of spring 22, thereby retracting the locking projection I9 from the slot I6 so as to release the disk for rotative movement. 'I'he disk may then be turned by the knob in a clockwise direction from the valve closed position, illustrated in Fig. 2, to the fully valve open position, illustrated in Fig. 3, or to any intermediate position. As soon as the slot I6 has been moved out of alignment with locking projection I9, pressure upon the knob may be relieved and the end of projection I9 will then rest under the influence of spring 22 against the rear face of disk I3 during rotative movements of the disk.

Movement of the disk in a clockwise direction is limited by engagement of arearwardly struck tang 28 providing a shoulder on the rear face of disk I3 which abuts against the lock pin projection I9 when the parts have assumed the position illustrated in Fig. 3, and also in Fig. 4. Upon reversemovement of the knob and consequently the disk, the slot I6 will, when the valve 5 has been moved to fully closed position, again align with the lock pinso that the projection I9 will be automatically projected into`the slot to lock the parts against rotative movement until again released by the stud 23 as the result of 4 inward pressure against the knob II. One edge of the slot I6 is bent rearwardly slightly, as shown in Fig. 4, to be engaged by shoulder 2l as the lock pin snaps into the slot, to thereby limit the projection of the pin.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that I have provided a latch mechanism which isl positive and reliable in operation and which is sim.- ple in construction, positive in its action, economical to manufacture, and easy to assemble.

The structural details illustrated and described may obviously be varied within considerable limits without departing from the essence of my invention asdefined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A latch for a rotatable valve actuating member of a fuel regulator or Ithe like comprising, .a disk carried by said member and provided with a radially disposed slot, a lock pin mounted in position to be yieldably projected into engagement with said disk, a rotatable and axially mbvable control knob, and a stud projecting from said knob through said slotv in alignment with a shoulder on said lock pin when the regulator valve is in closed position, whereby upon axial movement of said knob said lock pin will be disengaged from said disk to permit rotative movement of said valve actuating member.

, 2, A latch for the control member of a fuel regulator, comprising a knob for actuating said member, an element rotatable with said knob and member, a locking pin positioned to engage said element, means for yieldably projecting said pin into locking engagement with said element, and

a stud carried by said knob in position to disengage said pin from said element upon axial movement of said knob.

3. A'latch for a rotatable valve actuating member, comprising a slotted disk mounted on said member, a lock pin, means for yieldingly urging said 'pin into locking relation with knob through said disk and adapted upon. axial movement of said Vknob to directly engage said lock pin and retract the same from engagement with said disk.

4. A latch for the control member of a fuel regulator including a casing provided at one end thereof with a recess, comprising a lock pin slidably disposed within said recess, a spring for projecting said lock pin from the recess, a r0- tatable member provided with a slot for the reception of said lock pin, a rotatable knob,- and a stud projecting from said knob 'through said slot in position to retract said lock pin from said slot upon axial movement of the knob.

5. The combination with a rotatable shaft and a slotted member fixed thereon, of an operating knob, a stud extending from said knob through the slot in said member, and a yieldably mounted lock pin positioned to engage in the slot of said member and hold the member against rotation, said lock pin being disposed in they path of said stud to be thereby retracted from said slot upon axial movement of said knob.

6. The combination with an operating shaft provided with a radially slotted disk, of a yieldably mounted lock pin for automatically locking said disk against rotation when the slot in said disk is aligned with said pin, an operating knob, and a stud projecting from said knob in abutting relation to said pin whereby the pin is retracted from. said slot upon axial movement of the knob and whereby said disk may be rotated when released by said pin.

7. A latching mechanism for a iuell regulator having a rotatable valve operating member, which comprises a slotted element xed on said member, a stationarily mounted spring pressed locking pin engagable with said element to lock said member against rotation, and a rotatable and axially movable operating member provided with a Astud engaged with said element and aligned with said pin for disengaging the pin from said element upon axial movement of said operating member.

THOMAS H. JEFFERS.

l said disk, a knob, and a stud projectingr from said 

